Stretchers for carrying an injured person from the point of injury to some designated area where the patient's injuries may be better treated have been utilized throughout history. Over such an expansive time period of use the design of such stretchers has remained relatively unchanged. Most stretchers consist of a substantially planar surface having fixed handles on either end thereof such that transporting personnel may grip the handles and lift and carry a patient resting on the planar surface. Modifications to this basic structure have included foldable stretchers, stretchers having wheels for rolling the patient along a horizontal surface and stretchers having two laterally disposed wheels such than an individual can transport an injured person, unassisted, over various grades and terrain. These individually operated, wheeled stretchers are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,231,989 issued to Blatt; U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,186 issued to Kessling; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,982 issued to Hein, et al. The common feature in these stretchers is that the laterally disposed wheels extend below the substantially planar bottom surface of the stretcher portion. This design works well when transporting patients over substantially smooth and horizontal surfaces or surfaces having relatively shallow inclines. If, however, the patient must be transported over rough terrain or steep grades, the abovementioned design present serious problems for both the patient transported and the person responsible for moving the patient. The wheels, by extending beneath the bottom surface of the stretcher, present a relatively small contact surface which tends to catch on any protrusions encountered in the rough terrain. Thus, the terrain tends to jar the wheels, stretchers and patient supported thereon as the stretcher is wheeled across such terrain.
A commonly encountered example of moving a patient over rough terrain is the manipulation of a stretcher and patient supported thereon down a flight of stairs. When a stretcher having wheels is rolled over the first step, the wheels and consequently the stretcher will fall to the second step or until the stretcher contacts the edge of the first step. This roll-and-bump action is repeated at the expense of the patient's comfort until the stretcher reaches the bottom of the flight. Preferably, a flight of stairs should be negotiated by sliding the stretcher on its bottom surface across the forward edges of the steps to minimize the discomfort of the patient thereon; however, stretchers such as those taught in Blatt, Kessling and Hein et al cannot slide down a flight of stairs without the wheels encountering each step and repetitively jolting the injured patient.
As shown in Hein et al and Kessling, apparatus is provided to support the patient when the stretcher is tilted upright during rolling transportation of the patient. Hein et al provides a platform on which the patient stands while Kessling provides a platform and a support on which a patients body case is suspended. To accommodate patients of various heights, Hein et al provides an overly elongated board having a series of holes in which portions of the platform are selectively received to position the platform at selected locations on the board. This arrangement is necessary to support patients of different height in similar relation to the securing straps provided. Though the vertical support arrangement disclosed in Hein et al accomplishes this task, the use of an overly elongated board is not commensurate with the emergency transportation of an injured patient. Commonly, patients must be retrieved from confining spaces and transported in vehicles also having limited space, thus the dimensions of the stretcher on which the patient is carried should preferably be minimized.